Because this plate, showing bolivian wood-quails, seemed to interest a few people, when I posted it on facebook as a work in progress, I thought I would show how it turned out, and add a word to that:
The Odontophorus proved to be one of the tougher families to paint. In the end I could not resist painting a rufous male O. balliviani from Incachaca, Bolivia (lower left) because it is so different from the individual that I had already painted, a male from Puno, Peru (lower right). In the process I also had to do some corrections on the Puno bird, as the observant reader will notice.
The Incachaca bird is not only more rufous, it also completely lacks the black margined buff colored streaks on the crissum shown by the Puno bird. Further the shape and color of the shaft streaks on the large scapulars differ in color and shape etc.
with regard to the two O. balliviani I have been using museum specimens only. I could find no photographs. I have also been looking at the illustrations in Birds of Peru and Birds of the High Andes. All in all it is a real exploration when one dives into these cryptic species, there is no end to the questions that come up.
